A case manager coordinating early intervention support from three ministries

Cooperative for Inclusion (CECD), Portugal: Coordinates inclusive early childhood intervention of three ministries. In 2021, 154 case managers reached almost 80,000 people, enhancing access to early childhood intervention support systems.

The Cooperative for Inclusion (CECD), a local NGO based in the city of Cacém, has been providing inclusive early childhood intervention since 2009. The CECD model is based on case managers who coordinate the early childhood interventions (ECI) of three ministries – of Education, of Health, and of Labour and Social Services – substantially improving the access of families to ECI support systems. In 2021, 154 case managers reached almost 80,000 people, including children and their families.

Problems Targeted

The need of support for children with disabilities from zero to six years and their families is increasing, as it is often difficult for families to cope with multiple authorities.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The Portuguese ECI model integrates all professionals into local teams. The Cooperative for Inclusion has developed a system of case managers representing three Portuguese ministries that provide services in ECI, which in turn provides families with a single point of contact and a single plan of intervention in which all stakeholders play their part in achieving the goals and priorities as defined by the families themselves. The CECD case managers help to connect the family to required inclusive special education, therapies, financial assistance, respite care, and other services. If a family moves, a different local team initiates the support following the ECI plan and adapting it, if necessary, without the need of reinitiating the process and never losing track of children in need of support. The case manager model increases the level of trust and disclosure by families to the ECI professional. The system has also doubled the number of families being supported with the same budget, since ministries have combined their resources. It has also allowed for earlier detection of children at risk and increased expertise levels for the interministerial teams. By mid-2023, 154 local ECI teams operated across Portugal.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Each ministry funds their professionals in local ECI teams. CECD itself is directly funded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Services with €150,000 annually, which finances five professionals for the local ECI teams, and each local team supports 360 children and their families. The European Association on Early Childhood Intervention has recommended the CECD model as a good practice and is seeking European partners to replicate it. (Awardee 2024)

Pictures

In Portugal, the CECD model facilitates families' access to early childhood interventions.

In Portugal, the CECD model facilitates families' access to early childhood interventions.

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